


Healing

by swansklaroline



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, andromeda and narcissa have reconciled!!!!, flirty narcissa!!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-15 02:29:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14149980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swansklaroline/pseuds/swansklaroline
Summary: After the war, Narcissa and Andromeda reconcile. However, things become complicated when Teddy's other god mother, Anya, Tonks' best friend meets Narcissa and the two begin to take a liking to each other.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. I just wanted to share this idea. If anyone else wants to carry it on be my guest! Just wanted to write this down!!! <3

“I’ll be back at around 11, are you sure it’s not too much trouble?” Andromeda enquired, she was still anxious about her meeting later this evening. “When I signed up to be a godmother, I think it did imply that I would be willing to be there to care of Teddy whenever you needed. Go enjoy yourself Andy. Please don’t worry about us at all. We’ve got plenty to do.” Anya said before she winked at her godson.  
“Oh, alright. Very well. Goodbye, my love. Don’t give Anya too much trouble!” Andromeda said as she kissed her grandson on the cheek and finished wrapping her scarf around her neck. Within minutes, she was out of the house, which allowed the two remaining inhabitants to begin assembling Teddy’s new train set. He had been incredibly excited after getting it as a gift from Harry and Ginny earlier that week.

After a few hours playing and the time it took to eat and clear up they were both exhausted. Anya opted to lie down on the sofa whilst they both watched, what seemed to be the 14th rendition of The Lion King. She had no idea how long she had been asleep for until she heard the familiar sound of Andromeda’s clumsy apparition, yet something was off. There was someone else in the room. She began to stir from her slumber, trying her best to not wake her sleeping godson sprawled across her, she felt Andromeda’s hand over her shoulder, stopping her from wriggling. She smiled up at Andromeda and attempted to mouth “How did it go?”, but it came out rather more huskily than she would have liked. Andromeda chuckled as she attempted to free Anya from Teddy’s hold, finally managing to whisper something about it going a lot better than she had expected.

It was at this point that Anya remembered that they were not alone in the room and that Andromeda’s guest had been watching the quiet exchange from the doorway. She was much more beautiful that the papers gave her credit for, even at this late hour she was radiant. She slowly walked over towards Andromeda to see the sleeping toddler in her arms. “Oh, Andy… He’s so beautiful. He’s so small, he looks just like Draco did at his age.” Andromeda’s once estranged sister said softly as she held Teddy’s hand in her own. “Thank you, Cissy. I’ll take him up whilst you two get acquainted.” Andromeda said as she darted her eyes from Anya to Narcissa, before making her way up the creaky staircase.

“Narcissa Black. It’s nice to meet you.” Narcissa said as she placed her hand forward to shake Anya’s. “Hi, I’m Anya Trefusis, I’m Teddy’s other god mother.” She said as she smiled politely at her new acquaintance. They were left in an uncomfortable silence, neither witch seemed to know what to say. “So, I take it your dinner went well then?” Anya blurted out without much thought.  
“Yes, I would say so. I thought after so many years, it would be different. So many years of me hating her, so many years of ensuring that I never let my thoughts drift to Andy, but she’s still the girl that ran away with the Hufflepuff boy. She’s still my older sister.” Narcissa said, she was clearly emotional after the events that had occurred earlier this evening.

She sat down where Anya had been sleeping only moments ago and Anya followed suit, placing her self gingerly next to the older witch. “Can I get you some tea?” Anya said softly, noting Narcissa’s shift in attitude. “Yes, that sounds lovely.” Narcissa said with a slight smirk as she watched Anya stand up and make her way to the kitchen. She followed, feeling uncomfortable being left alone in her sisters living room. “So what is it that you do, when your not assembling model train tracks.” Narcissa said as she made her away across the living room, stepping through the mess that Teddy had left behind and leaned on the counter gently. “Oh, well I’m a healer at St Mungo’s. Technically, I’m on call tonight, but I have a friend covering for me until midnight.” Anya replied as she waited for the kettle to boil. “Oh, so you have to be ready for the whole night. That must play havoc on your sleep schedule I would presume.” Narcissa said as she began to move towards the brunette witch. 

“Yes, it is rather frustrating, but I agreed to the unpredictability that comes with the job. I really love it, I’ve been thinking about specialising in experimental healing, using new research, but I love working with children. I think having Teddy has made it harder though. I’ll get a patient and my mind instantly goes to Teddy, I worry about him a little too much and I think it’s getting harder for me to separate every child I see with the one waiting for me at home? I’m not sure though. Andy seems to think that I’ll grow out of it.” Anya said as she fiddled with the lid to the tea bag jar.

“I understand, I mean when you are younger you don’t seem to have as much of a problem with that distinction, but as you get older and with recent events, every patient could just as well be a family member. It’s easy to get emotional, I don’t think it makes you a bad healer or not good at your job, perhaps its a matter of balance.” Narcissa remarked as she removed her coat and placed it on a chair. “I hope that’s what it is, I couldn’t bear to not be a healer, I enjoy it very much.” 

Anya said with a smile as she began searching through the cupboards. Narcissa simply smiled in response and proceeded to watch as Anya moved from cupboard to cupboard, presumably searching for the sugar pot that was placed next to the kettle. Narcissa couldn’t help but smile at the so called healer that had the observational skills of a bat, if it were anyone else she would have laughed, but she found it very endearing in the young witch. As Anya tucked her hair behind her ear for what seemed the hundredth time, Narcissa had had enough and delicately placed the sugar pot in front of her. “Is this what you were looking for?” She said with a deeper voice than she had intended. Anya’s cheeks had reddened within an instant and Narcissa almost felt bad for teasing the girl she had only just met but she couldn’t help herself. She never really did have a lot of restraint when it came to witches. It had been the same with Lily Evans. 

It was at this point that Andromeda decided to enter. She sensed that the atmosphere in the room had obviously changed from the awkwardness earlier on to a completely different type of awkwardness, yet she was unable to put her finger on what exactly had happened. “So, Cissy, did you know that Anya here is a healer? One of the youngest in her department. She’s also started her own research group into the after effects associated with long term exposure to dementors.” Andromeda began, hoping that Anya would begin to chat a little more. She really did want them both to get along, Anya was like family to her now and she wanted her to feel comfortable with the change of dynamic. “Oh, yes, we were talking about her work at St Mungo’s before you came in.” Narcissa said as she waited for Anya to respond.

Anya wanted to say more, with anyone else she wouldn’t have stopped talking about her research, she was beyond excited about the grant she had received, but she had no idea how to act around Narcissa. It wasn’t even because Narcissa had been married to a former death eater, it was something else. She had no idea as to what was happening to her but she knew she had to begin speaking. “Oh yes, well, I finally got a grant to research into the psychological trauma associated with heightened exposure to dementors and with the war over, the whole judicial system has been overturned and a lot of people who had been wrongfully imprisoned were finally let out, but obviously they weren’t really the same. So, whilst I am researching the after effects, I’m also focused on rehabilitation and reintegration of those individuals into society, a lot of them have lost the majority of their families to the war, so they really don’t have a support system. It’s really interesting, if you want I can bring you a copy of some of our research to read through! Andy told me you were interested in being a healer when you were younger.” Anya let out, she has suddenly realised that she had been speaking at her Narcissa rather than to her, yet again, she was embarrassed. 

“I would love that, thank you. Have you read Frances Southlanger’s book on the dementors kiss? She did a study and actually stayed in Azkaban for a portion of her research period so she could feel the affects herself. It was incredibly chilling to read a first person account.” Narcissa said with an easy smile. Anya noted that the woman in front of her was nothing like the cruel woman that the newspapers wrote about or the one that Harry had spoken about prior to her saving him. She seemed as though she had a gentle heart, she had no idea how this woman could have even associated herself with the death eaters, let alone be married to one. She was puzzled and transfixed. Narcissa was intoxicating to be around. Narcissa’s smile was dazzling and to think that she had been the cause of it made her giddy. She had to get herself together she thought, she had no idea why she was beginning to feel this way about Andy’s sister. Andy! Andy was in the room and she could read Anya’s face like it was the back of her hand. She had to snap out of whatever was happening in her head, before she did something she would regret. “Yes! I loved that report, she’s doing a talk on her research into the effects of the cruciatus curse in a few weeks! You should go to it! I really do think you would enjoy it!” Anya said a little too excitedly considering the subject matter.   
“I’ll look into it. Are you going to be there?” Narcissa added, as she looked the brunette witch up and down. The tea she had been promised had been long forgotten, but she didn’t mind.

“Hopefully, I’m trying to move around some shifts still, if I can go, I’ll owl you, maybe we can go together?” Anya said, she instantly regretted asking Narcissa to attend with her, but she couldn’t help herself. Narcissa smiled and said that she would love to.

Andromeda had been watching the exchange, perched upon the counter top and had never been more confused in her life. She has not remembered Narcissa to have been so friendly with people she had just met. Nor Anya to get so flustered around one of her friends. Perhaps, it was simply because Narcissa and herself had been estranged for so long, perhaps it had made Anya unsure of how to act. Whatever the matter, she would find out later. For now, she was content with watching the exchange from the sidelines. 

“Oh! Ms Black, I seemed to have forgotten about the tea I promised to make for you.” Anya said as she turned back to re boil the kettle. This wasn’t like her. She wasn’t forgetful, or clumsy. She was never this out of touch with everything going on around her.   
“Call me Narcissa and don’t worry about the tea. You’ll just have to owe me…Now I really should be heading home Andy.” Narcissa said as she turned to her once estranged sister who she had accidentally ignored for the past ten minutes. “Oh, are you sure?” Perhaps we can meet up for lunch later on in the week. I’d love for you to meet Teddy, he was very excited to meet his Aunt Kissa.” Andy said with a quiet laugh. Her meeting had gone better than she could have ever hoped. Narcissa was getting along with Anya and seemed to be excited about seeing her Teddy. 

“Aunt… Kissa?” Narcissa enquired, she did not want her great-nephew to think her name was.. Kissa.. or whatever Andromeda had mumbled. Perhaps this was another one of Andromeda’s jokes, She had been like this growing up, saying things that only seemed to humour herself.   
“Oh, I’m sorry, he can’t pronounce Narcissa, so I suggested he call you Cissa and he just stuck with Kissa. He found it very funny if its any consolation.” Andromeda said whilst smiling at Anya who had since moved forward towards the two older witches.  
“Oh, Andy. It’s fine. He can call me whatever he wishes, if I am to be his favourite aunt.” Narcissa joked, this was a side of herself that not many others had been fortunate enough to see.  
“Sorry, but you’re going to have some competition.” Anya said as she moved closer to Narcissa with a competitive grin. She had manage to collect herself after the ‘You’ll just have to owe me’ remark and was now more confident than ever.

“Hmm, well when you get me that cup of tea… I guess we’ll have to settle this little dispute then.” Narcissa said with a smirk as she moved closer to Anya. She was becoming increasingly aware of the third glass of wine she had decided to have to calm her nerves throughout her meal with Andromeda. Her face was unbearably close to the younger witch beside her. Her blue eyes, transfixed on the brown orbs before her. Within seconds she became aware of her sisters presence yet again and decided that enough was enough, she would go home and sober herself up the next time she spent time with Andromeda, especially if Teddy’s other god mother was going to be present. She hugged Andromeda and placed a kiss on her cheek, she then became aware of the fact that she would now have to repeat this well intentioned greeting with the girl standing behind her. Slowly, breaking away from her sisters embrace, she turned around and softly placed her hands on Anya’s upper arms in place of a hug and proceeded to kiss her hastily on each cheek. As she pulled back she noticed that she had left two red lipstick stains on both of the girls cheeks, it was now her turn to be embarrassed. It lasted less than a second, but the heat between them had built up a little too much for her liking and with a small pop and wave to Andromeda she apparated back home, determined to get her new acquaintance out of her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Over a week had passed since Narcissa had had the pleasure of meeting Anya. She remained a little embarrassed of her intoxicated self but spending time with her sister and nephew made up for the discomfort she experienced. It was a Thursday and Andromeda had invited her to lunch with Teddy in Diagon Alley. She was excited, she had missed out on this with Nymphadora and was determined to not squander the opportunity she had been given.

"Aunt Cissy!" Teddy shrieked as he saw Narcissa walk into the restaurant, he had been colouring on the table with a new set that Luna had dropped off for him earlier that week. He was currently working on a picture of himself on a broom with what appeared to be a cat chasing him. 

"Hello, my beautiful boy. I've missed you very much, my love." Narcissa said as she bent down to kiss Teddy on the forehead. "What are you drawing?" She asked, she watched as his eyes lit up and the acknowledgement and then spent a few minuted nodding along to Teddy's explanation as she smiled at her sister.

"Afternoon, Andy." Narcissa said as she sat down opposite her sister and nephew. Andromeda smiled as she passed a menu to her younger sister. "Hey, Cissa. So, what has Lady Black been up to this morning?" Andromeda teased.

"Well, since you've asked me so politely. I had some meetings regarding the Malfoy estate, we're finalising the divorce and I'm going over my possessions. Lucius remains as infuriating as ever." Narcissa said with a sigh as she perused the menu. "Shoulda ran away like me, Cissa." Andromeda said with a laugh as she found herself being pulled by Teddy to look at his drawing. "Perhaps, yet, for Draco, I would have married Lucius a million times over." Narcissa said, she let her mind run to her son. He was currently working at the ministry, attempting to rectify the damage done to his familial name after the war and crimes of his father. 

"It's Anya!" Teddy exclaimed with the same vigour he had just displayed for Narcissa. Both sisters turned their heads to the brunette witch that had just walked in, yet she was not alone. "Hush, my love. Anya is on a date." Andromeda said with a chuckle as she returned to the menu. Her younger sister, however, remained transfixed on the younger witch. She was with a man, he appeared to be about her age. She noted how the girl smiled politely as the man asked her something and continued to watch the exchange. 

"Stop staring." Andromeda said as she noticed her little sister. She was amused, she had caught Narcissa completely off guard. "I am not staring. I... was just. I was not staring, Andromeda, so get that look off of your face." Narcissa scowled at her older sister and proceeded to order for the three of them. "I can't help myself, you're incredibly obvious." Andromeda said as she helped Teddy colour in the trees in his drawing. Narcissa simply shook her head, smiling as she found herself turning her head to the young couple.

She couldn't help but smile at the disinterested look on Anya's face as the man talked at her rather than with her. She returned her attention to Andromeda. " He's one of her colleagues at St Mungo's, been after her for months. She said yes this week, very out of the blue." Andromeda remarked as she too looked at her friend.

"Hmm. Why didn't she say yes, earlier on?" Narcissa remarked, he was quite handsome, in the same field. They appeared to be a suitable match. "I'm more surprised by her saying, yes. She doesn't really get on well with him, he steals her cases and she finds his personality to be off-putting. She vents about him all the time. I suppose that there is a fine line between love and hate. That could explain it." Andromeda stated, it had seemed odd when she had walked in here with him. It appeared as though the couple had only entered for coffee and as soon as their drinks arrived, so did Andromeda and Narcissa's meal. 

Andromeda began to cut up the food for Teddy and helped him with his meal. The two witches spoke about Narcissa's accounts and divorce for the remainder of the conversation. They young couple began to stand up. Narcissa found herself watching the exchange. "Well, I really have to go." Anya began as she put on her coat. "I had a good time though." She said as she fiddled with the buttons of her jacket. She had not had a good time, he was insufferable. "Oh really? Well, maybe we can carry this on... maybe dinner tomorrow?" The man said as he moved closer and placed his hands on Anya's waist, it was at this point she noticed the platinum blonde hair and tell tale blue hair of her god son. She caught a glimpse of Narcissa watching, she suddenly didn't know what to do. 

She smiled sweetly up at Mark and placed both hands on his chest, she attempted to push him away yet he pulled closer. "Mark this was..." Anya began but was unable to finish as the man in front of her shoved his tongue down her throat. She was about to blow him off and cancel their plans for the next day. " What are you doing?" Anya said as she pushed him off. 

"What? It was a good bye kiss." Mark said laughing as he played with her hair. 

"Listen, Mark. I think we should remain as friends, I don't think this is going to work." Anya said as she attempted to distance herself from him. "What? Come on. This was good." Mark began.

"Look. I really don't want to do this in here, I was going to let you down easy, just accept that maybe we don't go that well together." Anya said as she brushed past him and made her way to the door, Mark followed her and they both stood outside. Now directly in Andromeda and Narcissa's line of view by the window. Anya, hadn't noticed. "Come on, quit playing hard to get. We go very well together, our chemistry is great, you haven't even seen all of me, yet." Mark laughed as he backed Anya into the wall next to the restaurant. 

"Get off me, arsehole. This was a mistake. Let's just keep it professional." Anya said as she placed her hands on his chest. Mark refused to move and began to kiss her neck. "Mark please." Anya pleased, this was really one of the stupidest things she had ever decided to do.

"Get off her, when a woman says she wants you off her, that's what she means." A stern voice said from behind the pair. Mark removed himself from Anya and began to turn around to see who had stopped them. 

"Piss off, this is a private matter." Mark said as he looked at Narcissa, Anya took this opportunity to kick her knee up between Mark's legs and then walking next to Narcissa. "Touch me, again and I'll report you to Hannigan." Anya said angrily, her apprehension and fear had dissolved. She watched as Narcissa instinctively placed herself in front of her and she smiled. 

"Come on, I was messing around, love. You know I've liked you for a while, I was so excited when you said yes. " Mark began to plead as she straightened himself up.

"We are leaving, good day." Narcissa said as she grabbed Anya's wrist and walked her to the other side of the alley. Once she was sure that Mark had left she turned to the younger witch. She placed her fingers on both sides of Anya's face and stared into her eyes. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Narcissa said, concern spreading across her face.

"I'm ok. Thank you for what you did back there. It was really embarrassing..." Anya said as she looked to the ground. "You don't need to thank me, I just had to make sure you were alright. That boy is a piece of work." Narcissa said as she moved her hands from Anya's face and began to stroke her arms up and down. 

"Do you want to return to the restaurant, I'm there with Andy and Teddy." Narcissa offered with a smile. "I'm ok, I can't bear to see Andy, she's going to be so disappointed in me for even getting into that situation." Anya said with a small smile.

"She will not be disappointed she was about to march right out there and curse that boy but I told her to stay with Teddy." Narcissa said her hands found Anya's hair and she twirled it in her fingers. Anya laughed, Andy had acted the same way with both her own and Tonks' previous boyfriends. She was very protective.

"Ok, I'll take you to your apartment." Narcissa said as she linked arms with Anya and waited for her to apparate the two of them to the younger witches apartment. 


	3. Chapter 3

Anya apparated the both of them to her apartment, it was small but perfect for one person. She stayed with Andromeda on the nights she had Teddy so there was no real need for her to get a bigger place. She let go of Narcissa's hand as soon as them reached her living room. Cassandra, her cat walked towards her legs and she bent down and picked her up, she purred. "Sit." Narcissa said softly, as she led Anya towards her sofa. 

"Thank you." Anya said softly as she sat down, letting Cassandra saunter off towards her bedroom. "You must stop thanking me, it was the decent thing to do. You would have done it for anyone else." Narcissa said, as she sat down next to Anya. "Are you sure that you're ok?" Narcissa said as she pushed her a free strand of hair behind her ear, she looked out of place in Anya's apartment. She placed her hands on her lap, she had only met the girl once, it was clear she had over stepped, but seeing her pushed against that wall pleading with him to let her go, reminded her of herself with Lucius. She had wished someone would intervene for her, no one ever did. She knew she had to step in and she didn't want Teddy to have to see her Anya in that position. She had told Andromeda to stay and then proceeded to take out her wand, she had lived with death eaters for most of her life. She was so close to cursing him. 

"I'm ok now. I'm being terribly rude, would you like anything to eat or drink?" Anya said getting up and walking towards her kitchen. Narcissa followed, the situation scarily similar to the one in Andromeda's kitchen a week earlier. "I'll take that tea." Narcissa said with a smirk. Anya laughed and popped the kettle and then proceeded to pick out two mugs. "Now we're even." Anya said laughing. 

"I suppose we are." Narcissa said, still unsure of just where their dynamic lay. She watched as Anya filled up the mugs and stirred them wandlessly, whilst searching through the cupboards for something else. "Do you need any help?" Narcissa said as she moved to Anya's side of the counter. "Oh, no it's ok. I was just looking for...... Found it!" Anya said with a smile. She stood up and placed a selection of biscuits on a plate. She led them to her dining table and the two sat down. As Anya was about to take her first sip of tea, an owl came up to her window and began pecking. It was Mark's. She sighed and got up and let it in, she pulled off the letter, said "Incendio," then through it into the sink. She really didn't care.

Narcissa watched the younger witch and waited for her to rejoin her. "I can always threaten him again." Narcissa offered.

"Whilst as tempting as that is, I'm just going to ignore him." Anya said as she stared into her mug. "I just... I just feel so... stupid." Anya laughed, she was angry with herself. "You know that it isn't your fault, how could you possibly have known that he would behave that way." Narcissa said, putting her hand on top of Anya's. The younger witch smiled. "I did know. I don't know why I said yes. Most of the girls he's dated have complained about him. I.... I really don't know why I said yes. I...just, well I was confused about something and I just thought, going out with him might help me to see things clearly." Anya said as she opened her window to let the owl return to its home.

"Well, he's gone now. Did it help?" Narcissa said, with both hands around her mug.

"Not in the way I thought, but it's helped.... in a different way." Anya said. She watched as Narcissa smiled into her mug, it made her blush. "Good, just don't get yourself into that type of situation again, I won't always be there." Narcissa said, with a hint of a smile. "Since when did you become my knight in shining armour." Anya said taking note of the shift in the conversation. "You would be so lucky." Narcissa said, she stared at the younger brunette and then returned her attention to her tea. 

"Are you going to the ministry ball, Ms Black?" Anya said attempting to get the conversation away from wherever it was about to go. "Narcissa, and yes. I am. Are you?" Narcissa said, amused by the formal tone that had accompanied the brunette's last question. "I am, I'm going with Charlie." Anya said.

"Why go for Mark, when you have Charlie?" Narcissa asked, she was growing more puzzled.

"Charlie's like a brother to me. I could never be with him, plus he's too young for me." Anya said laughing, she remembered the first time he kissed her, they both agreed that they would never do that again and were quick to forget. It was Tonks' constant reminders of the kiss that had haunted them both for the rest of their school careers. "He's your age." Narcissa stated, she watched as the brunette attempted to come up with an explanation.

"I know, but I've never really been that attracted to guys my age? I remember Tonks used to make fun of me for liking Angus' dad, I shut up about my crushes after that." Anya said laughing, she went quiet her mind began to drift to Tonks.

"You really are a difficult one to read." Narcissa said still smiling. "No girls?" She asked, she knew she was over stepping but she was intrigued.

"A few, not that my parents knew about them." Anya said smiling, "Never Tonks, very much platonic again there. Maybe it's friends? I never seem to date friends, it's always someone I meet almost randomly, then I force myself to not like them and then I'm inevitably hooked!" Anya said as if she had just realised this.

"Did you meet someone recently, maybe that's why subconsciously, you said yes." Narcissa said, she internally reprimanded herself, but she didn't really care.

"I meet people everyday." Anya remarked, a blush had crept up on her and she was beginning to turn bright red. "I see." Narcissa said. "I have a meeting at 2pm, so I might have to head off soon. Are you sure that you'll be alright?" Narcissa said sincerely.

"I'll be fine, you're being too kind. Now, I've kept you long enough. You should get to that meeting." Anya said as she stood up. "I suppose I should." Narcissa said, "Call me or Andy if you need anything." Narcissa said and with that she apparated away. Anya remained motionless for a few seconds and then snapped out of her trance to clear up the dishes. Narcissa was... kind. She thought to herself, she shook her head. She did NOT have a crush on Narcissa, she was Andy's sister. She had to snap out of this. 


	4. Chapter 4

The next time Anya bumped into Narcissa was after taking Teddy out to dinner at a muggle restaurant. They had spent the day going to a muggle fair and Anya had used the opportunity to spoil her godson with sweets and toys. When they returned home, Andromeda sat waiting with a huge smile plastered across her face.

"How was you day, my love! Did you have fun with Anya?" Andromeda asked as she helped the boy with the buttons on his duffle coat, he managed to pull his hat off and began to recount the days events. Andromeda kissed Anya on the cheek and helped her with the bags as she settled with Teddy on the sofa. 

"We went on this ride and it went round and round and there were horses, but not real ones! Right?" Teddy let out as he looked up at Anya. 

"Yep, we went on that one twice, didn't we Teddy!" Anya said ruffling his hair as she undid his shoe laces.

"Well, that sounds wonderful! Shall we get you ready for bed and maybe if you're lucky, Aunty Cissa might come and read to you?" Andromeda said as she lifted Teddy up. Anya tensed slightly at the mention of the platinum blonde. She was still nervous about her apparent school-girl crush on Andy's younger sister.

"YES! Aunty Kissa!" Teddy said with a laugh, the sugar he had consumed throughout the day clearly had yet to leave his system. 

"Well, you'll have to hurry and get ready, she'll be here soon." Andy said as she fiddled with Teddy's jumper. She leaned Teddy towards Anya and he gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek and a rather suffocating hug around her neck. "Night." Teddy said with a smile.

"Goodnight sweetheart." Anya said as she rose and made her way to the kitchen. Whilst she loved her godson to bits, he really was a handful to care for. She popped the kettle on and picked up some of the case reports from St Mungo's she still had to get through and set them on the couch. She then, returned to the kitchen and successfully made a cup of tea, with ease, probably due to the absence of a certain witch. She shook her head, she was simply busy with work so naturally she would latch on to the first new person she'd seen in the past two weeks that interested her. 

She walked towards the couch and pulled over a blanket, with a flick of her wand, the candles around the room were illuminated and she settled into the stack of cases. Slowly, she felt her eyes droop, she adjusted herself so that her back was firmly against the couch and that her legs were tucked under her, she would allow herself to close her eyes for a few seconds, but after that she really ought to get back to her files. She had a lot to do before Monday and at this rate she wouldn't have anything done. She yawned and leaned back into the couch, her eyes weighing down more and more after each blink.

When she awoke, she became aware of hushed voices on the other side of the living room. She was determined to go back to her dream, she really did not feel like apparating home back to bed and getting changed. Almost as soon as she was about to fall back into the dream she was content to finish, she felt a hand stroke her face. It was Andromeda. She moaned and grumbled as Andy attempted to wake her.

"You're not supposed to wake a sleeping child Andy." Anya grumbled with a small smile.

"Well, lucky for me, you're far from a child." Andy laughed as she stacked the remaining documents into a small pile. 

"Hmmm, I'm just so so tired. I'll end up splinching myself. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Anya said, content with her argument.

"Come on, you've had a long day." Andy said pulling her up, it was at this point that Anya recalled the fact that Andy clearly had to be speaking to someone else in the room before she woke her up.

"Oh." Anya said as her eyes finally found the other voice in the room.

"Good morning." Narcissa teased with a smirk. She clearly had the upper hand, Anya was still dazed from her nap. She smiled at the girl, she had looked so peaceful, she almost wanted to scold her sister for waking her up. However, the pleasure of seeing her wide awake staring back at her with that look on her face seemed to remove any other thoughts from Narcissa's mind. Her hair was tousled and the curls were in disarray, her shirt was creased and hung slightly off her shoulder and her eyes drooped, prompting her to rub her eyes again.

"Narcissa, it's lovely to see you...." Anya let out before being interrupted by a rather large yawn. "Sorry, it's lovely to see you again." 

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you.' Narcissa said looking the girl up and down. Anya hoped that she didn't see the faint blush creep up her neck. She really didn't want Narcissa to see her in this state. Narcissa, who as always looked immaculate , was dressed in a dark green robe. Her hair was out and the blonde streaks fell just under her shoulders. Anya felt her eyes gloss over Narcissa for a little longer than would be considered appropriate. She could feel Andromeda's eyes boring into the back of her head, no doubt trying to figure out what was going on between the other two women in the room.

"Well, I better be off." Anya said attempting to find her footing as she struggled with her shoes. 

"Not in that state, you're right, what if you splinch yourself, no doubt I'd be the one to blame." Andy said as she pulled a strand of hair back from Anya's face. Narcissa's eyes narrowed at the exchange, she was being unreasonable. She barely new the girl and there was no logical reason at all to be jealous of her interaction with her sister, they had known each other for years. 

"Nonsense, I'll take her back." Narcissa said, suddenly rising. She was surprised with herself, she hadn't had anything to drink this time. She watched the girl struggle to come up with an excuse and smiled to herself, it was nice to know that she could have that kind of effect on her.

"I.. honestly. I was just joking, I'll be fine." Anya reassured Andromeda, although the remark was more towards her sister. 

"Hush. Go with Cissa, I'll see you tomorrow, sweetheart." Andromeda said with a smile as she led the girl towards her sister.

"Get her back safe." Andromeda said with a smirk as she watched Anya rub her eyes and pick up the stack of documents from the table.

"I'm sure we'll be fine." Narcissa said, as she watched Anya walk towards her. 

"See you tomorrow, Andy." Narcissa said to her sister as she placed her arm around Anya's waist, resulting in a small 'oh' coming from the younger witch. Now this really caused Narcissa to smile and she tightened her grip so as not to lose the girl when they apparated. 

'Love you, Andy." Anya said with a small smile and turned towards Narcissa.

Within seconds they were gone and found themselves in Anya's bedroom. Narcissa was a little too slow to remove her hand from the girl's waist and they both remained motionless for a little too long, content to stand in such close proximity. Narcissa decided to snap them out of whatever was going on. "Where are your night clothes, I'll lay them out for you, while you go to the bathroom." She pulled away, much to Anya's dismay. 

"Second drawer next to the dresser." Anya said as she walked towards her bathroom. "Thank you."

Narcissa simply smiled, not finding any need to reply. So what if she liked the girl, perhaps they could be friends. She was probably lonely and just confused her feelings, making them out to be more than they actually were. She went through the girls dresser and removed a satin tank top with some trousers. She lay them out on the bed and then became very aware of the fact that she was in the Anya's bedroom. This was beyond inappropriate she thought to herself, as soon as the girl remerged from the bathroom, she would excuse herself and be on her way.

On cue, Anya walked out of the bathroom, she looked beautiful Narcissa thought to herself. She shook her head, that was neither here nor now. She ought to leave. 

"I best be off, will you be alright?" Narcissa said, a little too huskily for her own liking, she needed to learn how to control herself, she was a grown woman and should not be acting in this way she thought to herself.

"Yes, I think I will. Thank you, you didn't have to bring me home." Anya said with a smile as she fiddled with the strap on the night top Narcissa had laid out. 

"We couldn't have you splinching yourself, now could we? Who would forget to make me tea?" Narcissa said in attempt to diffuse the obvious tension that was building up.

"I suppose you really do fancy yourself my knight in shining armour. Whatever will I do without you." Anya teased her back. 

Narcissa chuckled lightly and shook her head, "Hmm, well, I suppose I will see you at some point in the upcoming week. It's been a pleasure as always." She placed her hand on Anya's cheek and just before the girl could lean into it, she was gone.

With that, Narcissa apparated home, leaving a very confused witch to finally get some sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Anya woke up after a much deserved 10 hour sleep, her working every day that week and her 18 hour shift on Wednesday coupled with taking Teddy out the previous day had led her to crash, she had needed to sleep. She stretched and got out of bed, it was 10am. She sighed, she began to sift through her clothes in an effort to find an outfit to wear. She was meeting up with some friends for a lunch at 1pm and before that she had decided to head to Diagon alley for a spot of shopping. Charlie was on his way over to go with her. 

Finally she had settled on a corduroy dress with a black turtle neck under it, she was going into muggle London for lunch so she might as well look the part. She rushed into the shower and had a piece of toast before she heard a knock on her door.

She ran excitedly through her apartment and opened it without hesitation. "Charlie!" Anya said as she hugged her ginger friend, she laughed as the picked her up and settled her down.  
"Nice dress, A." Charlie said as he took her in, she smiled and picked up her bag.

"Thanks! You ready?" Anya asked and held his hands, with a small nod of affirmation they were off. 

"Where to first?" Charlie said, still holding her hand. Anya swung their arms in front of them and then looped her arm with Charlie's.

"Flourish and Blotts alright?" Anya asked as they made their way through the Sunday crowd.

"Course." Charlie said. "So, spill. What's all this I here about someone having a crush."

"I should never have told you, I was drunk when I decided to owl you that." Anya said laughing. "Ok, so you can't make fun of me, or judge me." She said sternly facing her best friend.

"I won't judge but I will have to make fun." Charlie said sincerely.

"Fine. Well, you know Andy right?" Anya let out.

"WHAT? You can't be serious, Andromeda sees you as a daughter. What? Tell me you're kidding." Charlie let out, his face had shock plastered all over it.

"What? No! Not Andy, be quiet. Of course not Andy, but you know Andy has a sister, Narcissa?" Anya said in a hushed voice.

"Her son? Isn't he a little young for you?" Charlie said with a laugh, "We're the same age and you said I was too young for you!" Charlie feigned upset.

"No, her. Not her son. Narcissa Malfoy, well Black now." Anya said slowly, hoping her friend would get what she was saying now.

"Merlin. You really know how to pick em, huh?" Charlie laughed.

"So, you don't think it's bad?" Anya asked him, looking up at him.

"Well, its difficult, but if I'm honest I'm just relieved its not Andromeda." Charlie said with a smile as he steered them into the shop. Anya hit his arm lightly, he would never let this go.

"Hmm. She's really weird around me though?" Anya said as she perused the shelves. 

"How so?" Charlie said as he bent down to look through a dragon book for Teddy.

"I? Well she's sort of flirty with me, then she's really withdrawn. I...I'm not too sure where I stand." Anya said softly, she couldn't concentrate on the books around her. Her head was spinning with images of Narcissa.

"Well, you've got to show her what she's missing. Bring back an eligible bachelor such as myself next time you're at Andys and she's there and I'll flirt with you to get her all riled up." Charlie said beaming with satisfaction.

"Can't. Already told her about you and me. She would know we were faking." Anya let out she was at her wits end.

"Ok. How about James? He's your friend and definitely not interested in women, so you wouldn't really be leading him on or anything. He loves acting, let him do it." Charlie said as he rested his hand on his chin.

"Do you think he would? Ask him for me?" Anya said with her best attempt at puppy-dog eyes.

"He's meeting us for lunch, we can ask him then. He'll definitely say yes, I'll ask him to. He never says no to me." Charlie laughed.

"Well who would ever say no to the dragon whisperer?" Anya joked as she held up a pop up book on dragons through time. Charlie simply laughed and took the book from her hands and went to pay for it. Anya was left to gloss over the books by the window until he returned.

It was almost time for their lunch after they had wandered around the majority of the shops along Diagon Alley as well as the market stalls. "Shall we?" Charlie said as he held out his arm for her to hold.

"Oh, we shall!" Anya said and with that they had apparated to a small alley outside Diagon Alley in muggle London. They walked for around 15 minutes to the restaurant and met James outside. With that, they walked in to discuss their plan.


	6. Chapter 6

Rose had finally managed to change her shift pattern after weeks of grovelling with her superiors. She was now free to attend the Southlanger talk she had mentioned to Narcissa when they had first met. She decided to owl, the older witch to see if she still wanted to go with her. Narcissa had had the upper hand in the majority of their interactions so far. 

She sent the owl early in the morning and then spent the majority of the day with her mind on Narcissa, she found it difficult to concentrate at work. She was disappointed in herself for allowing herself to be affected so much by the older witch. 

Finally, she was free and began to pack up her belongings in order to get home. She wondered whether or not Narcissa would have replied to her by now. She saw Mark in the staff area and decided to leave before speaking to him, she was in no mood to get into another argument with him. 

She apparated back to her apartment, Cassandra was lying in the sofa, purring. "Hey Cassie." Anya said with smile before picking her up, she set her down on her lap and played with for a little bit. 

"Did I get any post?" Anya asked the cat. Cassandra simply purred and then jumped off her lap and onto the window ledge, where the mail was kept. Narcissa's letter was so classically her, it was contained in a pristine white envelope with her house seal on it. 

Anya opened up the letter carefully to see the reply. Narcissa said that she would be delighted to attend with her and asked if she would like to go to dinner with her beforehand. Anya, beamed.

She quickly wrote a reply on the nicest parchment she could find and arranged to meet the older witch outside a restaurant on Diagon Alley at 6pm before the evening talk at 8pm. 

She still had a few days to get ready, she was already planning her outfit. She couldn't embarrass herself in front of Narcissa again. 

She decided to go shopping to look for a dress she could wear both for a formal dinner date and to a talk. It would be hard to find a nice balance, but she wanted to look good. 

It's not a date, she kept telling herself. It's just two friends getting a bite to eat before an event. She should not read too much into it. 

The next few days passed unbearably slowly and Anya found herself at her wits end. 

Finally, Thursday had come, she had spent all day at work anxious about her evening to follow. She had worked harder than ever and left early at 4pm to get ready. Anya had brought herself a dark green dress velvet dress, perhaps it was a bit much, but she had fell in love with it as soon as she saw it in the store. 

She readied herself quickly and did her make up. She wore her hair down and curled it a little so it resembled waves. She grabbed her purse and reapplied some lipstick, before putting on a large black coat. 

She apparated to the outside of the 'Dragon's neck' on Diagon Alley and waited for her supposed date to turn up. Narcissa apparated a minute or so later and apologised if she had kept Anya waiting. They walked inside and were seated. 

"You look stunning." Narcissa said when Anya removed her coat, perhaps it was the dark green colour of Anya's dress that resulted in this affect on her. 

Narcissa watched as a blush crept up on the girls neck and smiled to herself. "Thank you, you look beautiful tonight." Anya said as she fiddled with her fingers. 

"You're too kind. How was your week?" Narcissa asked, she sensed that the girl was a little on edge so opted to ease them both into whatever was going on between them. 

"It was good, really intense. I had to take up a lot of slack to swap my shifts around." Anya said finally calming herself down a bit, she really did need to relax. 

"I do hope it wasn't too much trouble." Narcissa said warmly.

"Oh no, it wasn't at all. I just don't want to cause too much trouble at work, I'm trying to get some more funding for some research so I have to keep everyone happy." Anya replied.

"I'm sure you'll get it, you're very qualified." Narcissa said honestly. 

The conversation halted when the waiter arrived and took their orders. Narcissa ordered quickly with her usual order and some win for the table. Anya was a little slower, she was very nervous already so opted for something light. 

"Thank you." Anya said to the waiter whilst handing him her menu. 

"My pleasure." The waiter said with a smile and set off towards the kitchen.

"How has you week been Narcissa?" Anya asked bringing her attention back to the older witch.

"It's been fine, nothing really out of the ordinary. I had lunch with Draco yesterday, which is nice. I do not really see him as much now that he's progressed in the ministry." Narcissa said thinking about her son, she did miss him.

"Oh that's sweet. How is he? I suppose with all the recent changes in the ministry he must have to put in more hours." Anya said as she thought about some of her other friends in the ministry.

"He is doing very well, I'm very proud of his work at the ministry. With everything we've put him through, I'm just happy about where he is now." Narcissa remarked. 

Anya simply smiled and moved back a little as the waiter brought out their food. She took the interruption to take in Narcissa, she was wearing a black dress, it fit her like a glove. She had a pearl necklace and earrings to match, she looked very beautiful Anya thought to herself.

Narcissa also took the opportunity to take Anya in, she watched as the younger witch attempted to subtly check her out and smiled to herself, clumsy girl. Narcissa watched as the waiter stared at the girl opposite her, she was getting more and more annoyed by his behaviour. 

The food looked delicious and they began to dig in. Anya was incredibly happy that the wine had arrived, it helped to calm her nerves. 

"The food is delicious." Anya said as she put her glass down. 

"It is, it's so lovely in here. It's one of the only places like this left." Narcissa remarked. 

"I'm very excited for the talk." Anya said, it was true. She had been a big fan of the report when it first came out and was keen to learn more. 

"As am I. She is a very intelligent woman." Narcissa replied. 

They finished their meals and carried on with their conversation. They talked about their families and Anya spoke about her relationship with her family. Narcissa told her stories of Andromeda when they were younger and Anya spoke about Tonks. They laughed and the dinner quickly drew to a close. 

They were finishing up and left their table after paying the bill. Narcissa had insisted on paying despite Anya's protests. 

As they made their way to the door, the waiter attempted to follow them to help Anya with her coat, but he was met with a glare from Narcissa, which sent him on his way. 

Instead, Narcissa opted to help her with her coat. After doing so, she led them out of the restaurant with her hand on the small of Anya's back. It was soft enough to get away with, without being mistaken for being too intimate. 

They apparated to the ministry building where the talk was to take place and made their way to take their seats. 

They found two seats alone, next to each other on the right hand side of the room and sat down. The talk began shortly and they listened intently. Narcissa watched Anya's eyes light up as it progressed, she found it very endearing. She smiled to herself and carried on listening, letting their shoulders brushed slightly as Anya moved around. 

Every few minutes she would turn to Narcissa and whisper an observation or something she thought was funny and carried on. Her humour was very similar to Andromeda's Narcissa thought, perhaps this was why they got on so well. 

The speaker then went on to talk about Azkaban and its affect on death eaters specifically. Anya sensed Narcissa tense up, clearly due to the link between her husband and eldest sister with the prison. Anya decided to give her hand a squeeze and Narcissa smiled as she looked down at it. 

Anya absent-mindedly traced circles with her finger on Narcissa's hand to calm her as she carried on listening, she held Narcissa's hand throughout the remainder of the talk. 

When the talk was over, she let go to clap. "Would it be alright, if I go up to her?" Anya asked Narcissa to make sure the older witch was alright.

"Of course." Narcissa said softly and stood up to follow Anya down the stairs. 

She watched as Anya went up to Frances and seemed to gush about something or other she had read. They were both laughing and Southlanger decided upon giving Anya a signed copy of one of her books. Anya came back to Narcissa as if she was in a trance. 

"Merlin, did you see that? She gave me her card and said I could get in touch with her about my research." Anya said beaming at her 'date'.

"I did. Your work is very good, she should be so lucky to work with you." Narcissa said smiling.

"I can't believe it." Anya said, still gushing. Narcissa felt a tiny bit jealous that she was not the one to have this affect on the girl, but brushed it aside. She should be happy for her friend. 

"Well, I suppose it is getting late. Tonight has been really wonderful. I've really enjoyed it." Anya said smiling, she moved a little closer to the older witch without thinking. 

"As did I, we must do something like this again in the near future." Narcissa said smiling. 

"Well, I suppose I'll see you around then." Anya said softly. 

"I suppose you will.' Narcissa said and leaned in to kiss the girl on the cheek and then apparated away.


	7. Chapter 7

A few days later, Andromeda had invited Anya to hers for dinner along with Charlie. Almost instantly after they had found out they had been invited, Charlie decided to invite James to get their plan in motion. 

The plan had been decided upon. Anya would take James as her date to the dinner at Andromeda's, in order to see if Narcissa really was attracted to her. 

Anya found herself outside James' flat and knocked, her foot tapping against the floor as she waited. "You took your time!" She said feigning anger. James simply smiled and shook his head. He led her into the foyer. 

"You look beautiful, An." James said with a grin.

"Thank you. You don't need to turn on the charm until we get there." Anya said giggling as she hugged him. He rolled his eyes as he closed the door behind her. "Where's Charlie?" Anya asked.

  
"He's in the kitchen, getting himself a drink." James said walking towards the kitchen.

"Here she is!" Charlie exclaimed and walked towards Anya. He slung his arm over her shoulders and laughed.

  
"That's your last drink. I need you on top form tonight." Anya said taking the glass off him and drinking the rest of whatever he had poured into the glass.  
"Fine, fine. But, the majority of my plan involved getting YOU drunk and having her take you home." Charlie said with a laugh.  
"You cannot be serious. Nothing that extreme for tonight. We're gonna take this slowly." Anya said as she stood with her back to the fridge, watching James as he mixed another drink.

"Come on, we need to see if she'll be your knight in shining armour." James laughed.  
"No, no! I don't want to come across too strongly, we're only using tonight to suss out whether she even likes me. If she doesn't we're not doing anything about it." Anya stated matter of factly.

"Of course." "Sure." James and Charlie said in unison, they looked up at Anya and laughed. She sighed, perhaps she shouldn't have told them.

"You're date went well though, I'm pretty sure that means she's interested." Charlie said.

"I don't know, she's very polite and I am Teddy's godmother, she's trying to mend her relationship with Andromeda, she kind of has to be nice to me." Anya said as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Oh dear Merlin. You're helpless. I would've slept with her by now." James laughed.

Anya rolled her eyes and sighed. She put her head in her hands and groaned. 

"Leave her alone, mate. She's not as smooth as you." Charlie said as he moved towards his friend. 

"Ok, shall we go?" Anya said pretending to check her watch.

"Someones eager." Charlie muttered and held her arm, with James on Anya's other side, with that they were gone and found themselves in front of Andy's front door.

Charlie stood at the front and knocked, with James and Anya behind. Footsteps came rushing towards the door, it was Andy, clearly struggling with the duty of being the host of a dinner party with a toddler on the loose.

"Come in, come in." Andy smiled and hugged them all.

"I see you've brought a date." Andy smiled as she greeted James and led them into the sitting room.

"Charlie!" Teddy exclaimed and ran towards the ginger, he instantly changed his hair colour from deep blue to a burnt orange and laughed.

"You're a Weasley Teddy!" Charlie laughed and spun the little boy around.

"So, James how did you and Anya meet?" Andy asked as she served drinks.

"Oh, we met through Charlie and we've been friends for a while." James said with a smile, picking up his drink.

"How sweet." Andromeda said, she was just about to sit down when she heard another knock from the door. "I'll just be a sec." Andy said as she rushed to the door.

"It's going well. How flirty are we supposed to be?" James asked with a smile.

"I don't know, we'll just judge the situation and then act accordingly. Just like touch my arm or something, make it natural. Nothing too over the top." Anya said in a hushed voice.

Charlie and Teddy proceeded to make their way to the sofa and sat down next to the pair. "Who are you?" Teddy asked James as he fiddled with his toy truck.

"My name is James and I believe yours is Teddy." James said taking another truck and crashing it into Teddy's.

"How did you know that?" Teddy asked.

"Anya has told me a lot about you, she's always talking about you." James said with a smile.

"Really?" Teddy asked smiling at Anya.

"Yeah, buddy. She also told me that you have a really cool train set. Can I see it later?" James asked Teddy.

"Yeah lets go now. Anya can come too." Teddy said jumping off of Charlie's lap and grabbing James and Anya by each hand. They were leaving the sitting room and walking into the play room when they bumped into Andromeda and Narcissa in the hallway.

"Narcissa, it's nice to see you again." Anya said with a smile.

"It's a pleasure to see you." Narcissa smiled, her smile quickly vanished when she noticed James holding her nephews hand.

"How is my darling boy?" Narcissa said with a beaming smile as she knelt down to Teddy's height.

"I'm great, Aunty Kissa." Teddy said and then proceeded to place a sloppy kiss on Narcissa's cheek. She chuckled and rose up.

"Narcissa Malfoy, I don't believe we've met. " Narcissa said, sticking her hand out to James.

"James Lewis. It's nice to meet you, I'm a friend of Anya's and Charlie's." James said with a smile and shook her hand.

"I'm going to show Anya and James my train." Teddy said with a smile and then proceeded to drag the two out of the hallway.

"They're sweet together, aren't they." Andromeda remarked as they walked in to join Charlie.

"Hmm." Narcissa simply remarked and followed her older sister into the room.

Narcissa entered the room and sat herself next to Charlie whilst her sister poured her a drink. She was going to need it if she wanted to make it through this dinner, she thought to herself. There was no reason whatsoever for her to be in such a foul mood after seeing Anya with James, yet here she was sulking like a child. She shook her head and smiled as Andy handed her the drink.

"So Charlie. How did all of that start." Andromeda remarked gesturing to the other room. Charlie blushed and looked at both women.

"Well, you know she's been a little down, some would say lovesick. Merlin knows who over, but I finally decided to do something about it. James is a really nice guy, one of my closest mates. It made sense, they've known each other a while." Charlie said, looking at Andromeda, he hesitantly looked at her younger sister who seemed to have a poker face. Narcissa smiled and sipped the wine.

"They are very sweet. I hope this works out for her." Andromeda remarked contemplatively.

"So do I." Charlie said.

Andromeda noticed the shift in her sisters mood and decided upon getting the evening started. "I'll go get those two, you two take a seat at the dining table."

Narcissa sat at the opposite head of the table to where Andromeda was to sit, with Charlie at her side. They were soon joined by the others, Andromeda sitting opposite Narcissa with Teddy and James at her side and Narcissa with Charlie and Anya.

"How's Draco?" Anya asked Narcissa softly as Andromeda spoke with James.

"He's fine." Narcissa said shortly and turned her attention to Charlie. She ignored the remainder of Anya's comments throughout the conversation, allowing Charlie to speak to her.

The evening was pleasant enough and the meal was delightful, Andromeda may have been clumsy but her food was always delicious. Narcissa found herself scowling at James' arm resting on Anya's thigh and had to keep reminding herself that it really should not be any of her business. She was met with a few glares from Andromeda from across the table.

"So James, what is it that you do?" Narcissa asked, finally deciding to speak to him.

"I work with Charlie, but not nearly as adventurous as him. I take care of the business side of our dealings." James said while stretching his arm around Anya's chair. 

"How interesting, I suppose your work takes you all over the world." Narcissa asked choosing to ignore the gesture.

"Yes, it sure does. But, I am looking to settle down a little more." James said while winking at Anya, she simply laughed and carried on with her dinner.

"That's wonderful." Narcissa said bluntly and carried on with her meal.

"He's also really good with the animals, he's definitely helped Charlie out a lot." 

Narcissa didn't reply, but instead took a sip of her wine. It was incredibly quiet. 

"Yeah, he does help out a lot." Charlie said winking at Anya. Narcissa watched the exchange and saw Anya grip her fork tighter. 

The tension was heightened, but not in the way Anya had hoped. Instead, Narcissa had decided upon completely ignoring her and giving her the cold shoulder. They had barely spoke to each other all night. Anya tended to her wine, perhaps Charlie had hoped for it to go badly and force her to drink so much. 

The evening began to draw to a close and the group decided to enter the sitting room whilst Andromeda put Teddy to bed. Anya poured herself some more wine, to fill the silence whilst James, Charlie and Narcissa spoke amongst themselves. 

"Where's the bathroom?" James asked Charlie.

"I'll show you, mate. Come on." Charlie said, standing up. "We'll be right back, ladies." 

Anya's eyes pleaded with him to stay in the room and not leave her with Narcissa, when she was in this foul mood.

"Narcissa, are you alright?" Anya decided to ask her, she really could not deal with the silence.

"I'm perfectly fine." Narcissa said as she sipped her wine. 

"Oh, ok." Anya said and fiddled with the hem of her dress. 

Narcissa couldn't help it, Anya was ridiculous. They had had such a pleasant evening on the night of the talk and now here she was, with a date. She had no idea what the girl was playing at.

Anya carried on drinking her wine, the plan had backfired. She sighed. 

The boys returned and Charlie grinned at her, but she just shook her head. 

"I have a really early shift tomorrow, so I'm going to head off." Anya said putting down her glass. "It was lovely to see you all, I'll pop in and thank Andy." 

"Oh come on, An." James protested, he grabbed her hand as she was getting up, but she pulled it away. "The night is young." James added.

"Honestly, I'm fine. I just need to be up early. I had a great night." Anya replied squeezing his shoulder, she opted to kiss Charlie on the cheek and then wave at Narcissa, before walking out.

"What's with her?" James asked Charlie.

Charlie leaned forward to ensure that his old friend was out of earshot. "No idea mate. She probably does have an early shift." 

"She needs to lighten up." James said to Charlie, forgetting that Narcissa was with them.

Narcissa watched the exchange silently, Anya had behaved very oddly this evening. Nothing really added up. She decided to stay until Andromeda returned and then would excuse herself from this rather confusing evening. 

Andromeda returned after settling Teddy down. She had said good-bye to Anya in the hallway after attempting to get her to stay. 

"Unfortunate that she's left." Andromeda said as she came back. She was delighted to see that Charlie and James had cleaned up the kitchen a little bit. 

"Yeah. She has an early shift." Charlie attempted to let out.

"Hmm." Andromeda said as she looked at her sister.

"Well, we're going to head off too. Thank you for a wonderful evening Andromeda. It was nice to meet you Narcissa." James said giving Andromeda a hug. Charlie did the same and thanked the two witches and then both James and Charlie apparated out together.

As soon as it was clear that the others had left, Andromeda turned to Narcissa.

"What is going on with you?" Andy asked her sister and settled down next to her.

"Nothing." Narcissa said, sipping her wine.

"You were rude to that poor girl all evening." Andromeda said. "I know it's hard but you can't treat her that way, no matter how you feel."

"I know. I don't want to talk about it tonight Andy." Narcissa said softly. 

"I know, but we will soon." Andy said as she held her sisters hand and smiled.

"I better go." Narcissa said softly.

"Alright, but we'll talk soon." Andromeda said with a smile and stood up to let her sister out.


	8. Chapter 8

Anya did not meet with Charlie or James for a few days after the dinner. She was still angry at herself for deciding on that course of action. It was beyond childish and she was worse off than before, Narcissa was so cold to her. She couldn't stop thinking about Narcissa's eyes barely expressing any emotion towards herself. She had finally decided on meeting up with the boys. They were coming to her apartment.

"Here's our mystery girl." Charlie said with a laugh as he walked in with James trailing in behind.

"An, sweetheart, what happened. I was doing so well." James said smiling.

"I really don't know, you were both so great, but it wasn't working. It's only made me feel worse and I'm sure she has no interest in me whatsoever now." Anya said slumping onto the sofa.

"Oh, come on. You don't know that for sure." Charlie said sitting next to her.

"Regardless, we're here to cheer you up. Get a coat, we're going drinking." James said rallying the troops.

"He's right, the only way to get over something like this, is booze." Charlie said dragging her up.

"I don't know guys, I don't really feel like it." Anya began to protest.

"Nope, not hearing it. Get up and let's find you someone to forget all this with." Charlie said.

"Ugh, fine." Anya said before grabbing a coat and then heading towards her two friends. They apparated to a small Wizarding pub in London. They stayed for hours, chatting and drinking. No one really paying too much attention to whatever Anya was drinking. As the night began to draw to a close, they decided on getting her home.

"Up you get." Charlie said, almost dragging Anya from the booth.

"Charlieeeeeeee. I'm fine. Honestly. If I then we yeah." Anya mumbled.

"Because that makes any sense." James laughed holding her up on the other side.

"This is your fault mate. She has such a low tolerance." Charlie laughed.

Anya had resorted to just giggling at whatever her friends were saying, she could barely hear them.

"Let's getya home." James said and apparated them to her apartment. They helped her get ready for bed, left some water by her bed and went home.

Instead, she decided to get out of bed in her nightdress and apparate to Andromeda's house, no doubt a habit from her days drinking with Tonks.

She knocked on the door, giggling.

"Who the bloody hell...." Andromeda muttered as she opened the door.

"Oh for goodness sake." Andromeda said looking at the girl sitting on the floor outside her door.

"Cissy. Come here and help me." Andromeda called.

"Nooo. Not her please, Andy." Anya protested from the floor, her eyes wide. There was no way she could deal with Narcissa seeing her like this. "Cold."

"I know you're cold sweetheart, you're sitting outside in December in just a night dress." Andromeda said as she made her way to Anya's side. She rubbed the girls shoulders to warm her up a bit. 

Narcissa emerged from the sitting room, "Oh." She simply said seeing Anya standing next to her older sister. The girl looked like a fright, like something out of a novel. She was shivering in a silk nice dress next to her sister.

"Grab her other side and help me get her inside." Andy said as she propped open the door with her foot. Narcissa quickly made her way to the younger witches side and snaked her waist around her arm, in order to steady her.

"Make sure you're quiet, we won't have you waking up your Godson." Andy mockingly warned.

"Shh. I'll be as quiet as a... as aaa. I forget the word. Um... MOUSE." Anya exclaimed. Andy placed her hand over the girls mouth to stop the giggling and set her down on the sofa, while placing a silencing charm around her. Anya leaned back and looked up at Narcissa.

"Did someone have a fun night." Andy joked, looking up at her little sister. Narcissa seemed to be shell shocked just staring at the girl, she was unsure of what to do.

"Nope." Anya said shaking her head with a laugh. "James and Charlie made me go drinking with them because I was still sad about... hmm."

"Still sad?" Andy asked, stroking back some of the girls hair. Narcissa had managed to find a large cardigan and placed it over Anya. She must be freezing she thought to herself. She wanted to sit down next to her and wrap her in a blanket. 

"Mmhhm. But, I can't say what about. It's a secret." Anya said leaning her head on the arm of the sofa. Narcissa watched as the girl began to fiddle with the embroidering on the sofa. Secret? Perhaps she had broken it off with the boy, but why had she gone drinking with him. It made sense, whatever happened at the dinner seemed so forced. 

Teddy began to stir, Andromeda looked up at her sister and mouthed a 'sorry' and then dashed out to her grandson. She had to check on Teddy, he hadn't't been sleeping too well. Narcissa sighed internally, she had no idea how to act with the girl. She had been incredibly cold to her at the dinner. 

'You're really beautiful. You know." Anya said looking up at Narcissa and reaching out for her hand, Narcissa's features softened instantaneously.

"Thank you. As are you.' Narcissa said sitting down beside her.

"You don't mean that." Anya said sitting herself up.

"I wouldn't have said it, if I didn't mean it." Narcissa said looking at her, she couldn't bring herself to be cold to the girl in this state. She smiled at her. 

"Shall we dance." Anya said deciding to stand up, she pulled Narcissa up with her. However, her footing was not quite as good as she had thought, she slipped and Narcissa grabbed her arm to steady her. She held the girls forearm and then placed her arm around her waist. 

"Careful." Narcissa whispered, in an attempt to not disturb Teddy.

"Come on." Anya protested and dragged her into the middle of the room, she draped her hands around the the back of the older witch's neck. Narcissa opted to place her hands on the girls waist. It was just to keep her steady she said to herself. It was to stop her falling. Nothing more.

They swayed for a few minutes, with Anya mumbling something incomprehensible every few minutes and Narcissa nodding. Her head was just above Anya's and the younger witch had decided to rest her head on Narcissa's shoulder. It was peaceful, it was soft. 

"I want..." Anya began before shaking her head. She laughed and threw her head back. She giggled to herself before resting her chin on Narcissa's shoulder and looking behind her. She had no idea what she was saying, what was coming over her. 

"What?" Narcissa asked. What did she want? Was she alright?

"I can't say it." Anya said, shaking her head. Her eyes were teary now, she let go of Narcissa's neck to rub one of her eyes. She wasn't laughing. "I.. I need to sit."

Narcissa nodded before leading the girl to the couch, they sat down. Anya rested her head on Narcissa's shoulder. "You're sweet to me sometimes." Anya remarked, looking away from the older witch.

"I'm sorry if I was short with you the other day." Narcissa remarked, thinking back to how she ignored the girl. This resulted in Anya moving her head towards the older witch, she sighed and smiled.

"It's Ok." Anya laughed, she didn't really understand what Narcissa was saying to her. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Anya fiddled with Narcissa's hands. She drunkenly pulled each finger back and curled it again. She moved towards Narcissa's rings, her head still resting on the older witches shoulder. They stayed that way for about ten minutes, just sitting there quietly, with Anya shifting every few minutes to get more comfortable.

"I want to go home." Anya said softly and looked up to Narcissa, she was still teary.

"I'll take you, let me tell Andy." Narcissa said as she tilted the girl to the opposite side and rose to find her sister. Anya watched as Narcissa wandered off, she knew it was the alcohol but she had never been more attracted to the older witch.

She came back a few seconds later and helped Anya up, she steadied her and brought her to the middle of the room. She wrapped the cardigan securely around the girl to keep her warm, held her hand and then apparated them both to Anya's apartment.

Narcissa took her hand and led the girl to the bedroom. "Let's get you into bed." Narcissa smiled softly and helped Anya remove the cardigan and lie down. She began to pull the covers over the girl to stop her shivering. She hesitated and decided to push back a strand of the girls hair back as she leaned over her.

Anya took this opportunity to drape her arms around Narcissa's neck, yet again. She brought Narcissa closer to her face. 

"I want.." Anya began, pulling the older witch closer. They were inches apart, before Narcissa shook her head, with a sad smile.

"Not like this." She whispered softly and kissed Anya's forehead, "Sleep well." Narcissa stood up and apparated home. 


	9. Chapter 9

Anya woke up in the morning with a feeling that could only be described as dread. She had completely embarrassed herself the night before, with Narcissa. Why on earth had she thought it would be appropriate to apparate to Andromeda's? Had she hoped Narcissa had been there? She sighed as she slammed her head against the pillow and groaned. She forced herself out of bed and performed a small pain spell to remove the headache she had coming on. She had a busy day ahead, errands to run and then work in the evening. She would have to get over embarrassing herself in front of a certain blonde witch.

But, she couldn't. She had spent the whole day replaying the night before, analysing her every interaction with Narcissa. For the first 2 hours of her shift her mind was constantly on the blonde. It was at this point Anya realised she needed to get a grip. She had work to do.

She attempted to proceed with the remainder of her shift without thinking about how she had behaved. The hours rolled on and it was finally morning, at around 8am Anya finally left.

On her way back from work she decided to pop into a small bakery and pick up some pastries for Andromeda as an apology and some flowers. She apparated to Andromeda's and knocked on the door and waited.

Andromeda opened it up quickly with a smile. She never seemed to get angry at her, Anya thought to herself.

"I'm so very sorry Andy, I shouldn't have dropped in like that, especially with Teddy." Anya apologised and handed over the pastries. Andy accepted the box with a smile.

"Sweetheart, it's fine. I know that you've been down recently, I just wished you told me about it." Andy said holding her by the shoulder.

"I know, I know and I will as soon as I know what's wrong." Anya said as she followed Andy into the living room. Teddy was sitting playing with some wooden blocks attempting to stack them into a tower.

"What you making Ted?" Anya asked as she sat down next to him.

"A tower, a really really big one. The biggest." Teddy said as he stood still attempting to place another block on carefully. His concentration was broken when the owl began to scratch at the window, with a letter on its leg.

"I wonder who that's from?" Andromeda asked herself as she walked over to open it.

"There's two of them. Here you go." Andromeda said handing a second envelope to Anya.

"Oh. Thanks." Anya said as she began to open it.

She could tell who it was from, from the seal on the envelope. Narcissa. They had both been sent one so it couldn't be specific to whatever Anya had done the night before.

"A Christmas party. How exciting." Andromeda remarked as she read her invitation.

"Your sister is known for her lavish parties." Anya said looking up at Andromeda.

"I know, I'm glad to have finally scored an invitation after so many years." Andromeda joked. She watched the younger witch smile at her joke. "Are you going to go?" Andromeda enquired.

"Well, I am free then. So, I suppose there's no harm in going." Anya smiled softly, she was more confused than ever on where she stood with Narcissa, perhaps this party would give her some clarity.

"Good. Perhaps you'll meet someone." Andromeda laughed as she placed her mug on the table.

"Perhaps I will." Anya replied.

Anya had decided to bury herself in her research and that had had a direct impact on her need to think about a certain witch every five seconds. She was making process on her work and was finally beginning to collect her data together. She was proud, relieved, at least she had this. She still had Frances' contact details perhaps she would invite her to take a look at her research. She shook her head, she would have to wait till it was finished. There would be little point in sharing it with her at this point. Perhaps, she would be at Narcissa's party. A plethora of witches and wizards in Narcissa's circle from all over the country had been invited. 

The party was getting closer and closer and Anya was still to buy a dress. She had gone shopping twice, but had not had much luck. She had finally decided upon going with her friends Cassandra and Aurelija. They were much better at this stuff than her. 

She was to meet them in about ten minutes so she quickly put her parchment away and began to get ready. She grabbed a jacket and packed her purse and then apparated to Diagon Alley. 

"There you are, An." Cassandra exclaimed. 

"We've been waiting for ages!" Aurelija said as she hugged her friend. 

"I'm on time. Not my fault that you two got here early, is it?" Anya laughed.

"Enough of that, we've already found a couple for you to try on, come on come on." Aurelija said dragging her friend into the dress store they were stood outside.

"Okay, okay. But, nothing too flashy. Just something appropriate for a formal gathering." Anya started, she had already had this conversation with them.

"Yes, yes Miss Boring. But, we want you to make an impression." Cass smiled.

"An impression?" Anya asked.

"Let's not beat around the bush, we're trying to find you a dress so that you can seduce the lady of the manor." Aurelija laughed as she picked out a green dress. 

"Charlie." Anya muttered. 

"Yes, if we're being honest we're still mad that you didn't tell us first!" Cass said, feigning anger. 

"I know, I know. I just wasn't sure about what was happening, it's just a small crush anyway." Anya laughed as she held the dress Aurelija had thrown at her. 

"It's fine. But we will. to be showing you any mercy when it comes to picking out these dresses." Aurelija smiled as she pulled out a strapless black dress. 

"Green and black, really?" Anya said, raising an eyebrow. 

"It's fitting." Cass said smiling.

"It's a little obvious." Anya said, unconvinced. 

"Well, you need to make more of a statement, instead of getting pissed and showing up at Andys." Aurelija said with a laugh.

"Charlie, told you guys that too!" Anya exclaimed.

"Yep and you're gonna tell us everything from the start while you get changed." Cass said pushing Anya into the dressing room as she waited outside. 

With that, Anya began trying on dresses as she recounted everything that had happened since meeting Narcissa for the first time. 

 


End file.
